Pastor David Lee Rinden
Pastor David Lee Rinden, 79, went home to be with His Lord Jesus, Sunday, May 2, 2021 at Augustana Home, Moose Lake, Minn., where he had been a resident since Jan. 12, 2021, due to complications from Parkinson’s Disease and Lewy Body Disease. Funeral services were held Friday, May 7, at Barnum Community Church, Barnum, Minn. Interment took place at Blomskog Cemetery near Moose Lake, Minn.
Pastor Rinden was born Aug. 1, 1941 in Lake Mills, to Oscar and Iva (Stensrud) Rinden, and was the oldest of four children. His early years revolved around working on the family farm, attending a one-room schoolhouse through the eighth grade and going with his family to church, a regular part of his life. David graduated from Joice High School in 1959.
At a young age, he felt the call to enter the ministry and pursued the steps necessary to reach this goal. After graduating from junior college in Mason City, he attended the University of Minnesota— Moorhead, where he obtained a degree in Speech Pathology. He met his wife, Gracia Carlson, while attending school in Moorhead.
While he enjoyed his work as a Speech Pathologist, he never lost sight of his calling to become a pastor and in May 1966, he graduated from the Lutheran Brethren Seminary, Fergus Falls, Minn.
David and Gracia married in September of 1966 in St. Paul, Minn. They immediately moved to Viscount, Saskatchewan, Canada, where they would serve their first church.
In addition to serving in Saskatchewan, Canada, he served the following churches: Eau Claire, Wis. (l968-1972); Lynnwood, Wash. (1972-1979); Underwood, Minn. (1988-2000); Rochester, Minn. (2000-2014) and Grand Rapids, Minn. (2016-2018). In 1979, he and his family moved to Fergus Falls, Minn., where he would serve as Director of Publication for the Church of the Lutheran Brethren in the role of editor of Faith and Fellowship Press. He would serve in this capacity for 20 years, before moving to Rochester, Minn.
Family and friends will remember him for his strong, unswerving love for his Lord and Savior, his love for others, his life-long love of music, which began in childhood, manifesting itself in singing tenor in various quartets and choirs, and playing his guitar and ukulele at home and woven into ministry; his love for travel (Norway, Israel and Africa, England and France); and his desire to see the Gospel spread both near and far.
Pastor Rinden is survived by his wife of 54 years, Gracia; daughters: Elizabeth (Michael) Hahn, Mount Bethel, Penn.; Amy (Wayne) Pafko, Marshall, Minn.; daughter-in-law, DuRanda (Koch) Rinden Torkelson, Rochester, Minn.; nine grandchildren: Brie, Liddi and Quinn Rinden, Rochester, Minn.; Ingrid, Henry, and Greta Hahn, Mount Bethel, Penn.; and Charlotte, Benjamin and Julia Pafko, Marshall, Minn.; three siblings: Daniel (Mary) Rinden, Cokato; Mary (Rollin) Tonneson, Souris, N.D.; and Martha (Mark) Jarvinen, Farmington, Minn.; and many other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Oscar and Iva Rinden; and a son, Jonathan Rinden in 2011.
